The Cut
by AnkoStone
Summary: This is dedicated to @zemyanarozi and @letzebuergesch on Tumblr!


The blonde was stiff, his eyes darting around the room looking for any sort of escape. Locked down in a wooden chair, frozen by nothing but fear and adrenaline. The window for escape was closing in. Sweat pooled down his face and back as he felt the urge to run fill his body with capacity to do so, an ability for dashing away he had never known before. His being here was a mistake, a trick against his gullible, naive self. But if he was going to make it out alive, then he needed to go now. He looked around once more, standing up to make his final run. But then, he was suddenly thrusted back down, a hand from nowhere coming from behind and pulling him by his shoulder. He gasped and turned around.

"Quit being so dramatic. It's just a haircut."

Bulgaria pulled Luxembourg back into his seat. They were in the Bulgarian's kitchen. The room smelled like coffee, since the man was making some in preparation for the other's fits of whining. He had laid out towels on the floor, and we wielding silver scissors. It had been months since Luxembourg's last haircut, and while he liked to keep his hair a bit longer than some, it was now to the point that he was damn hear eating it.

"It's not all that fair, why do YOU get to decide when MY hair gets cut?" Luxembourg asked, one of his blue eyes staring up at the other with a sad puppy dog look. On a normal occasion, Bulgaria's guard might not have been on, and he could have fallen for the hues of sky that threatened rain. But after dating for months, and knowing perfectly well the other man was just a dramatic whiner, he had grown nearly impenetrable to such advances.

"Because you refuse to go on your own or with your siblings, you claim you don't trust hairdressers because they are a scam, and everytime I try to kiss you I pull away with blond hair in my mouth." With each reason Bulgaria counted on his fingers to force his point. Luxembourg was sure that that last one was an exaggeration just to make him feel bad about kissing the other, but he knew that if he tried to argue that, then Bulgaria would just simply stop kissing him, and while the Luxembourger could probably survive a day or two, he knew that a permanent ban from romantic contact with his boyfriend would surely devastate him, and he would only be able to make it a week before he would roll over dead from lack of love.

Bulgaria could see in the other's eyes that he was be dramatic again, and lightly bonked his forehead to bring him back to reality. "Stop daydreaming. I need you to sit up straight so I can get an even cut." Now Bulgaria was no expert in cutting hair. He had read up on it a bit in preparation for this moment, and he trusted himself enough to cut his lover's hair. He would just need Luxembourg to cooperate with him. He would love the other through thick and thin, but if he had to live with a short hair Luxembourg for the next few months, alongside dealing with the ramifications from said man, he would have to get used to not running his hands through the blonde's lovely hair. And in that case, would he ever be able to forgive himself?

Now they were both daydreaming. They needed to focus. Bulgaria began to run a comb through Luxembourg's hair. The other grew stiff at the initial contact, but slowly relaxed when he realized all his boyfriend was doing was combing him. He knew he was being a bit silly, not wanting his hair cut. But the margin for error was always high, even with professionals. Plus, hairstyle was often just an expression of individualism. His hair was the way it was in part, because he didn't want to look like his brother. They were both proud individualists.

Bulgaria wouldn't know these worries though. Luxembourg had never voiced them. The ebony haired man just assumed his boyfriend was simply just afraid of change, or something silly like that. The blonde wouldn't mind sharing these concerns, but in the end, what did it matter? His hair was going to be cut anyways.

With each stroke of the comb, their silence would grow more deafening. Bulgaria wouldn't break it though. He was a man who enjoyed the quiet. And while Luxembourg could usually get behind a peaceful afternoon with nothing to be done except to enjoy themselves, he couldn't just sit in silence. He needed a soft radio, or the tv turned down low. The tick of the kitchen clock was annoying, and he could practically hear the sunbeams radiating through the window.

"How long will this take?" He asked, breaking the quiet to his relief. Bulgaria continued his careful work though, make sure to remove all tangles and such. He hummed in thought, before realizing that wasn't a verbal answer.

"Ah, I dunno. Probably no more than fifteen minutes." He shook his head, before setting working his way to the back of Luxembourg, hiding him from the other's view.

"Have you cut hair before?" The blonde already knew the answer, but he was desperate for conversation. He began to wonder if perhaps he wasn't just pushing off awkward silence, but also distancing himself from the inevitable.

"No, but I still charge." Bulgaria teased. He gently massaged the back of Luxembourg's head with his fingers. He could tell the other was still nervous, for whatever reason. He just hoped the other wouldn't freak out in the middle of it. He was getting ready to start the task. "I'm going to begin cutting. Ya ready?"

Luxembourg shook his head no, before sitting completely still. "If you do a bad job, I will never speak to you again, I warn you." He stated, making the Bulgarian laugh a bit. Despite himself, Luxembourg felt a swell of pride in his chest for managing to do so. It could be so rare that the other would laugh, often because the joke would escape him, either because he wasn't paying attention or his humour was just far too bland for Luxembourg's grand taste.

Silence fell over them once more, one filled with anticipation. Bulgaria gently began snipping at the ends of Luxembourg's hair. He couldn't feel anything, but with each heavy snip the blonde began to wonder if this was a good idea. If he should have just sucked it up and went to a professional, or in the very least Belgium's home, since she had cut hair before. He was putting his complete trust in his boyfriend, who had never cut hair before, and just the other night had been reading about how to do it on wikihow. And yet still, he ended up trusting the other more than anyone else. It was probably because of something stupid, like love.

Bulgaria didn't talk as he trimmed the back. Honestly, he knew that this wasn't the part that concerned Luxembourg. He was more concerned with fucking up the front and ruining his boyfriend's style. He liked having his bangs in his face. Bulgaria didn't understand why. It hindered his hindsight to the point that Bulgaria was sure he had tripped because of it (Luxembourg refused to admit that it was true). However, his need for silence was not felt by the other, as he began to ramble on about different things.

"I can't even remember the last time I got my hair cut. It had to have been before we started seeing each other, or just right after. It was just a trim, I usually never let it get this long. I guess I was distracted. I guess YOU distracted me. I usually often go to Bel too to get it done. She's cute my hair in the past. I don't really know why I didn't just go to her this time. Honestly, I just don't see your reasoning as to why it has to be cut. I like it long. Perhaps I should grow it out. Perhaps we should-"

"I'm not stopping now." Bulgaria interrupted him as he finished the back. He ran his fingers through the other's hair once more to brush out any of the clippings that might still be in his hair. The back was nice and even, and almost looked professionally done. Even though that was the easiest part of this endeavour, Bulgaria felt a bit proud, and was confident in his moving on to the front.

He circled around the other, and smiled down at him. Luxembourg looked back up at him, his eye full of worry and concern. Bulgaria, though still unmoved by the other's begging, bent down and lightly kissed the other's forehead, where earlier he had bonked him.

"Almost done." He reassured the other, but he simply rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but this is the climax of this haircut. I am more worried than anything." He stated. His fingers lightly began to drum on the chair, not wanting to bounce his leg since that might keep him from sitting straight. Bulgaria wasn't really good at offering comforting words, so the best he could manage to do was run his hands through the other's hair a bit, revealing the other's other eye.

"You trust me?" Bulgaria asked. And Luxembourg supposed that that was the big question, right? All of this could be boiled down to that. All of his anxieties about this haircut, all came down to this. So far the answer seemed obvious, but it was a ploy. This was the ultimate test. Did he trust this man enough, to let him cut his hair?

"Of course."

Bulgaria took a bit of his front bangs and strained it through his fingers. Luxembourg closed the eye that was close to the cut, but his other remained trained on Bulgaria, watching him with deep intent. Bulgaria noticed this, and despite himself felt a bit more pressure, lightly turning red.

"Don't stare at me." He said, before taking the scissors and cutting off a bit. Just right below his eye. Luxembourg smiled and looked away before he could watch, he wouldn't have been able to bare to see it anyways. Bulgaria continued this process, straining and cutting, until he had finally finished the man's bangs, leaving just the other side to go.

"Wow, you braved through it. And I did an amazing job." Bulgaria said, shining in his praises as he looked over his handy work. He had done an excellent job, and Luxembourg's hair was back to wear Bulgaria could tolerate it.

"Ah, I suppose it wasn't too bad…" The blonde mumbled as Bulgaria finished up his trim. Peering down he could see all the hair he lost, which really wasn't as much as his dramatic fantasies had depicted it would be. Once Bulgaria was finally done, he brushed the hair off of Luxembourg, circling around him once more. Some of the hair fell down his shirt, making him feel itchy and gross. "Let me take this off…"

Luxembourg took off his shirt, more hair falling onto the towels below. Bulgaria chuckled once more, before giving his hair one final shake.

"Would you feel better if I said I was proud of you?" He asked. Luxembourg huffed, but nodded. It wouldn't make him feel better, but it would be nice to hear.

"Too bad." Bulgaria finished off, smirking all the way, before bending over to pick up the towels.

Luxembourg huffed in frustration, crossing his arms like a stubborn child, refusing to get out of the chair to help. Bulgaria didn't mind, he simply took the towels, and the other's discarded shirt, to the laundry room and tossed them in the washer to be dealt with later. When he returned to the kitchen, he finally went to that pot of coffee that had been sitting there.

"Hey." He said as he poured coffee in a white ceramic mug. Luxembourg refused to look over, not giving the other the satisfaction of earning his attention, even though his ears were trained on him now.

"I love you." He stated, before drawing the coffee up to his lips to drink. Luxembourg made no motion to look at the other, though his mumbled response wouldn't give away the small smile on his face.

"You're tolerable."


End file.
